CAREER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM SUMMARY The overall Specific Aim of the Career Enhancement Program (CEP) is to 1) recruit and develop the careers of junior faculty who are committed to translational research in prostate cancer (PCa), and to 2) identify mid- and senior-level investigators who are already established in another area of research, but want to redirect their focus to the field of PCa. Building on the already existing outstanding programs and excellent resources for translational and clinical research in PCa at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and the Columbia University Medical Center, our CEP is designed to develop future leaders in PCa research. Using a rigorous grant selection process, our CEP Advisory Committee (AC), will identify candidates with the highest potential for success and who are committed to careers in PCa research. The AC members will make recommendations to the WCM SPORE's Executive Committee for funding and then closely monitor the progress of all awarded investigators to ensure that the Program's goals in research, education, and scientific and grant writing are met. They will also provide positive research role models in a supportive academic environment. The ultimate goal of the CEP is to provide awardees with the knowledge and tools necessary for successful clinical, translational, and/or basic science PCa research careers. At the conclusion of their involvement with the CEP, awardees will be able to design and conduct hypothesis-driven PCa research, with significantly increased abilities to obtain peer-reviewed grant funding from federal or other extramural sources. Drs. Douglas Scherr and Lorraine Gudas, each of who have extensive experience in mentoring and developing the career of junior faculty, will oversee the CEP. As part of the CEP, we will also educate and mentor physicians and laboratory-based scientists in cross collaborations that will lead to the design and conduct of hypothesis-driven clinical/translational therapeutic research in PCa by creating a collaborative and productive research setting within the PCa SPORE.